Universal grinder



J. H. LETZ.

UNIVERSAL GRINDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1918.

Patnted im. 3l, 1922. A'

6 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I. H. LETZ.

UNIVERSAL GRINDEH. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I3, I'9l8. v y

' Patented Jan. 3l, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

vJ. HJLETZ. UNIVERSAL GHINDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I3, 1918.,

Patented Jan. 31, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

1. H mz.

UNIVERSAL GRINDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I3, 1918.

1,404,981. y r Patented Jan. 31,1922.

. s.; sHEETs-sHEET 4.A

GZQ'Q 45 {Kliff/55565,"

J. H. LETz.- umvl-:BSM GBINDER, APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 191B.

Patented Jan. 31, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

J. H. LETZ.

lUNIVERSAL GR'INDER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I3, ISI-.

1,404,981, v Patented Jan. 31, 1922;

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

To all whom t innig/fccmcempl Y Be it known thatl,` JOHN HoLLAND Lmz,

a citizen or" `the UnitedStates, and -a* resident oi' Crown Point, inthe Vcounty'ot Lake and State'of. Indiana.. have invented certain new and. useful `V tiiiniovements i in`-'Universal Grinders,V o'.v\ihiAch-the following is avk full,

' clear', and ien-act specieation. 1

1M?? invention is concerned -ivith 4cutting and grinding -millsjlY and is'd'esigned to pro-* v duce: 'such-amill as Will'becapable ofcut-v ting and: grinding in` an economi'calinanner practically every -materi'al L that? the farmers i of? allsec-tionsltlesire to c'oniminute.. To this end'it comprises in combinatioii'ive main v elenfientsgtolivit, (1)1 feeding mechanism to feed-materials lneeding preliminary cutting int0 '(2');the cuttingmechanism, which 'cuts tlienrfandifeedstliemjinto .-(3') the'`A coarse 20 grindinw mechanism7 with which is .associttedV (Ll ula hopperflwhich*supplies directly'g' sitchxmateii'al as.: needsno preliminary Cutting51anclinally Ya iiie grind-ingmill into ivliii'chthe' coarse'ground material is fed i-ffrt `isi-'toy -be grouiii'diine. Associated with,

the elements,- l preferably 'provide (6)' "gearing forA the "feedingf mechanism,

VWliicligearing may be thrown out @faction 'Wheife the materials do notA requirel cutting hoppe'ifiasf iiell as a removable' bottom ortlie hopper Whichwhen in: place, cuts v ourl' from' actual-operation onithe materials. Y the customary frame: Work.' which prefer-f "i f subst'an-tiallv'4 a-ll fof the rough Vgrinding mechanism when? the' materialsy t0" be ground nee'donly tlie-';afcti'on` othe fine 4grinding mill... l alsopreferably provide (8) LAan auX- Vilia'rjr"discharge' aperture between the coarse f' grindiiigfmechan'iism and'they fine Agrinding mill?. throughwhich coarse ground. materials Y can be discharged Without reaching the iine.

tof -usix.rs'heets` of; Vdrawings in which the same reference vcharacters.fare used lto designate.

identical'parts inall kthe iigures Aof Wliich-' isla vcentral longitudinal `section i 'i through the". mill;` the? nexgrinding portion.

' cutterv head cutter: headudetached ;Y

oi .which being shown in elevation, lthe section being on the line I el o'fFi'g. 3;.`

- U'NTED` STATES" '.PATE le@ Els* 1 JOHN QLLAND. L 'n'rz/i,l on enoWir-onzr, nvnrANAn-ssieiroi lrornginrz H FACTUnING' COMPANY, or' CROWN roiirnntnreitaA Conronnronpn immane.

Figa 2-is a transverse vertical section on f l Fig. '8 isasimilar 'section o'ntheline"3'-13 is an partlvin' *f 'on the lined-#4 oiiFigl',k but showing the?V "fgearing. for-7 the feeding"mechanisinfthrown Figy 9 is atopv plan-vietviof casting for.

(651 f mechanis'mshoivnfin Figlbution alargerV Y eri-...f t..

Y"i5". 1 the cutter heathseenffinaeertain'position'g' O q Y, r c, the position of Fig. 9 a v Fig; 11 'is' a detail invertical sectionron' ino seen trom'pos'ition atfrightv anglesto Fig. 12 is'aperspect'ive 'view of the cyl'inff".

der Yof 'the coarse grinding.` mill l y carryingvout-my'invention` I provide Wise'. securedtofLth'ej four 'cornersfo the 'ably Consists Of fouflees .eoboiteci or Other-11; L

concave casting 211Which has the generali shapel of aQsha'lloW concave extending sub- 22 formed on theV end -of lthe concavey vcast- :i'ng for; that endof the mai-n shaft l23,k which extendslthroughoutthe lengtho the' ina-V Y'sv-tfaizitiallyfthet length otthemachine; *Atl the drivingeend -Qf themacliineis the bearing chinei and is iournaled-in the bearing; abovef' noted, the centralbearing 2413- secu-r'ed to they] bottom of. the concave Q lf'and the bearing 25a at thefdischar'gefend of the machine', Whichbearing.v .forms a part ofi-theV outer. casing;

sectionfv for the fine grinding.mill-,f'said section-26 Aand 'the-inner section being secured to-the concave casting'inl any de sired manner,- aslinthe-inanner. illustrated cured thereon vthe belt pulley 30 t0 which power is applied andl the hub ofthi's pulley has secured thereon the spur-gear pinion 3l. which, when the feed mechanism is 'in use, mesheswith the large spur-gear wheel'32 journaled on the'bearing'stud 33 projecting outwardly froml the verticalvflange of the bracket casting v34, which casting 34 is bolted, as bestseen in Figs. 5 and 6 to 'the adjacent end of the concave casting 21 by the bolts 35 passed through the elongated slots 36 formed in the horizontal liange `of the bracket 34'soY that when the feed gearing is to be thrown out of operationz as seen in Fig. 4, it'can be done by loosening the nuts Von the bolts 35 and pulling the'brlacket out- `ward. The hub of the large spur-gear wheel 32 has secured thereon thespur-gear pinion 37 which meshes with a spur-gearV wheel 38 journaled on Va stud v39 projecting` .outwardly `from the upper end of a 'bracket 40,

I which can-be secured in either of two posi- Ations of adjustment by the bolt 41 passing through said bracket 40 and through a slot"1n the vertical flange of the bracket casting 34. On the lower end of bracket 40 vis a stud 42, which has journaled on the j outer end thereof the larger spur-gearwheel 43 meshing with the spurgear pinion 37 and having secured thereon the similar spurgear pinion v44 which is the same verticalv plane'as the pinion 38. These pinions 38' and 44 are'in'tlie same vertical plane as the' spur-gear wheel 45 secured on the outer end of theshaft 46 of the lower feed roll 47 the shaft of which feed roll is jour-Y naled in suitable bearings 48 formed in the sides of the feed rollercasing 49. The feed (roller 47 has a longitudinally corrugated periphery and co-operates with a feed roller V47a of larger diameter mounted on the shaft 50 which is journaled'in vertically movable 'bearings 5l, adapted to slide in the vertical ways 52 formed in the end walls of the casing 49 for the feed rolls; is of a peculiar design, being of considerably greaterV diameter than the feed roll 47 and having the deep longitudinal pockets formed therein adapted to receive ears of corn and feed theini between the feedrolls without forcingisaid rolls apartan unnec-v `essary14 distance against the resistance of thefeedfroll casing '49.

the helically coiledexpanding springs which surround the substantially vertical'eX- tending rods 54 connected at their lower ends to the"bearings 51 and having their upper ends extending upward through apertures formed in the bosses55 on'the top of The springs 53 areheld under tension by their engage ment with the under side ofthe `bosses 55 i and serve to press the feed rolls yielding-ly inengagement. I The feedy roll V47a is driven katkthe same peripheral velocity as the feed roll 47 bymeans of the spur-gear are engaged.

The' feed roll 47 wheel 56 meshing with the spur-gear wheel 45 and journaled on the stud .shaft 57 projecting from the bracket extension 58 ofV Vthe adjacent end wall of the feed. roll cas-L ing 49. fr'sprocket'pinion 59 vsecured on the hub of the spur-gear wheel 56 has the `'sprocket chain 60 thereon co-operating with Y the sprocket wheel 6l secured onthe outer end ofthe shaft 50 of'theffeed roll '4.9,'the/ sprocket wheel 6l beingl 'sufficiently larger than the sprocket pinion 59 to keep the peripheral velocities ofthe two feed rollers substantially the same. j Y Y p Secured on the receivingY side of the feed roll casing 49 is the feed trough 62and the feed roller 47 co-operates on its'under half with a semi-circular recessf63 formed in the casting 64 closing the lower :end ofthe feed roll casingz49 and in the adjacent portion of the concave casting 21 so as to prevent materials being fed back to meet the feed roll 47. r

66, asbest seen inFigs. l, 3, 7, 9 and 10k having a pair of headsv 67 adapted to beV secured on the shaft 23 in any customary manner and connected by a`plural1ty,1nthe present case four, helicallyextending ribs 68the shape of which `in cross-section `imn;

mediately adjacent the head-67 is shown in Fig, 7. At this section they are provided at each end with Vtheapertures 69 for the bolts 7G Vby which the helical blades 71ia1e bolted in place and also with the abutment c lugs 72 by which the backs of the blades 7l The lribsy 68 are connected at their centers by short `vvebs 73 and 74', the

'webs 73 connecting the adjacent edges 75 of the ribs that arenot cut ofi', while/'the webs r 74 connectV the edges 76 ofthe ribs thatare.

flattened off intheir central portions, the novel shape being employed to produce av casting that can be readily molded. The

outer faces of the ribs 68v are helical portions L of a cylindrical surface, and the blades-7l Y are flatbars with ground edges curved to a helical shape so that thecutting edges 717 will extend a little outside of the generally front and .rear of the vcutter head'V casing which has its bottom made upfof the adjaits top formed by a curved casting V80, the

top edge of which engages the rear of the feed roll' casing 49, vWhile its lower edge is sea ,ed on thecasting 81 Lshapedin vertical ist 12ov c gilindrical surface of the cutter head 1f (3o-operate closely' with the edgesof lthe plain cutter bars 7 8' and 79 secured onthc cent portion of the concave casting 21, and

zontall'tl'ange 82 of the concave castingl2l,=`

Whilefthe cutter Abar 79fis secured toits innerv face, the parte goingtomake up the cutterk headv casing being bolted together in vany convenient manner. The cutterv bar-7 8 is securedenthebar; Ewhich is generally Z-shaped in its vertical ,cross-section', and A Y fairly fine-the action of' yfall! they Ft'eeth 89,1 is

is bo-ltedon the horizontal ledge S84 ofxthe, concave casting 21e. Its top 4flange extends back Vtothe feed roll' ll'fand directs the material fedi to the ycutter head. From the description. thus? givenv of the cutter head and its associated 'elements-it Will be-evident that material fed thereto by the feed rolls 45T and 47a will be ch'op'pedby the-blades v71''cobperatiin'g With theoutter bars 78l and 7 9 and that the helical pitch'fof the ribs 68 andV the blades 71 Will serve tov feed thev material as fastas it is `cut along: the axis of the shaft 23 tofthe coarse grind ing concavel and? cylinder. If the material is to b efedtothe cutterhead rapidly,v the bracket 4C() is to be adjusted as'shovvn 1n ful-l lines in Fig; v3 Witlr the pinion .Lin .mesh

with the spur-gear Wheel 451 If' the feed-is to be slow it will be adjusted-4 as-s'een in? dottedlines in- Fig. 3^ with the pinio-nlV 1nmesh Withfthe spur-,f'ge'arf-Wheel` 45. v

The coarse grinding elements -of my in? vention are the concave 85', seenIl inFigslS and 14e' secured ne'arthe discharge end of the Y conca-ve casting- 2ly and bolted therein,` 'a1 1dV providedg as seen, with 'foflongteeth 86 alternated with the rows of fine'teethVA 875,

co-ioperatingwith the cylinder, preferably.

made up of" live similar sections;V 'each' coni sisting of a hub 88 and a pair'of'opposedl teeth 89, all but lthe last pairl of; teeth being vprovided with the recesses 90 i-ntheir tips to vco'ioperate with 4 theShort teeth' S'Zof the concave, the teeth 87' beingc'l'earedby reason of the recesses 90. yThe sectionsfmay be formed integrally, or separately and locked together oir-fthe shaft 23 byrecesses in their ends. As shownthe teeth are set with their feeding 'fa-ces" in a hel-ical plane,V so as to f feed the materialthrough the coarsegrinding section, and between? eachpairof hubs 88 'is an annular' groove 91,'adapted to receive the-tips of'the longteeth 86 on the concave, which teeth are also set in the concave and have their faces 92 also arranged in the-linesof helical spires to assist' inthe feeding of the material lengthwise of the shaft 23. The sides of theteeth 89 Shear with the sides of the long teeth 86, and as a consequence the coarse grinding is done asl Y rapidly as the material can be fed thereto by the cutter head.

Where the material does vnot need to be out, it is placed directly in thefhopper 93 supported on the edges of the'con'cave cast-.

ing 2l above the concave 85; Where'much material is to be ground Withoutlpreliminary degree of mechanism isnot neededvz" l' 'FOP' grmdl'ng some materials;

' 'already bolted' in placefby the bolt95passed through the flange 97 'projecting upaffrom fthecenter-V so: i'

by al setl of clutch 'teeth VWith/a small fscreni d. v Vmember'99 havingaplnralityof' helically directed' Wings 100i.l projecting therefrornso through the4 'receiving;` aperture 101 "Off the buh'r'casing 265i275;'.thefsizefofthe aperture l being regulated Voir-the upperside-bye-thel `feed plate V102 lhavn'gfthe vertical 'slotfllOjl thereinthr'ough whichV the'bolt i28-fpasse's'.f- -Similarly,`there` is provi'dedf "on the'lovve'r side asimilar plate-"I OLl'having'the-vertieat sloty AM )iftherein 'through Whichf passes they thereon'inside" the buh-r casing anyv 4desired companion st'ationarybuhrforffine-fgrinding, 'i i suchbuhrs 'asV are illnstratedin nyPatent's i .these buhrsV being of any. desi-red"'construev "il N0. 1324455.13; No;i1,244,514;Noe-15244515;1

aber 30,1917.

Whieh'pass through the ears 1108 of"saiel-ffsecf` 1210.y king 21.` The/coarsely 'ground material'gthenl 'inserti-jenem bh 4s100117?Vv l rfrcasiirggy v charged through the spout 111. ofthe buhr falls through the aperturele the concafv'e, Vand is- `'dfiSchar 110"insteadf'of passing ilntof being there vline ground, and thence discaslng.

It will of course' be understood thatthe machine s supplied With. various assortments of grinding plates or buhrsfordifferent Inaterials, such for instance as illustrated in'iny `I'Jatentsabove mentioned, and by `changing the buhrs for different materials,employ1ng the different speeds ofthe feeding 'mechanism,' -or` dispensing W1th it entirely,` and different *portions of the coarse grinding ap-A paratus I am enabled with the single Inachine to grind any lkind' of material the farmer V.has occasion to grindto any; desired. ineness,` and `Without thel use of unnecessary power, thus producing what cave, a shaft journaled in the concavefhaving may be truly called-a universal grinder.

While I have shown and described my invention as embodied inthe form which l at present consider best adapted to carry out its purposes, itfwill be understood` thatit is capable of modifications andthat I do not desire" to be llimited in the interpretation of thefollowing claims except as may-bey necessitated by the state ofjthe prior art.y V

' Whatl claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: ,g

l. A cutter head castingfconsisting of a pair of heads and four helically shaped parallel supporting bars connecting said heads at their peripheries, the adjacent edges of the barson twosides being yflattened as shown throughout thel central portion of theirlength, for the; purpose described. f c 2.- 1 In, a vgrinding machine, the combination .with-a v.casing,.of a-jshaft rotatingtherein,

hubs securedong the shaft having teeth with recessesin their ends projecting' radiallyv therefrom but having their advancing front surfaces setiat anl angle to the axis -of thel shaft so as to form a helical feed, a concave concentric with the shaftand having long stationary teeth' projecting therefrom toward and substantially tothe vperipheries of the hubsfvand-shearing with the sides of the ro- -tatingg teeth alternated withA series `of short teeth cofoperating vwith the .recesses yin the ends of the rotating teeth, and means for rotating the shaft. y'. .A ve 8. 11i-fa grindingmachinefthe combination withfa. main casing having a-shaft extend-A ing therethrough,ofabuhr casing with a discharge aperture atene end of themain casn n means carried by the shaft and co-operating `with the concave, fine'grinding buhrs inthe buhr casing, aj discharge aperture from, the

main casingto thebiihr casing, an aperture in the lmain casing below the discharge apertureto thevbuhrl casing, and'means for closing'said last ,mentioned aperture when mate-l rial kis to be-ground fine.

, 4. Ina grinding machine, thecombination "with a casing. having a concave therein, of a infr" a concave beneath said. shaft, grindingV hopper opening into the casing over the con-v prevents their acting cn the material to Vbe ground and `if removed or put in place regu# lates the rapidity of the grinding. Q

Y 5. In a` grinding and cutting machine, the combination with a casing, of a' shaft journaled in and extending through the casing,A

a concave'toward one end of the shaft, arhopper above said concave discharging thereinto only, grinding'elements securedV on the shaft above the' concave and beneath the hopper. af A cutter head on the shaft toward the other end and beyond the hopper, a cutter head casing forming a part of the niaincasing and discharging at onegend uponthe concave, a supplyaperture for the cutter head casing, and mechanism for. feeding materials through said apertureto the cutter head only.

6. In a grinding and cutting machine, the combination with a casing, of avshaft joura: concave toward one end of the shaft, a hopper above said concave discharging thereintjo only, grinding elements secured on the 1 shaft above the concave and beneath the hopper, a cutter head'on they shaft toward the other end-and beyond the hopper, a cutter only, gearing `connected to the shaft for driving the feeding mechanism and means for disengaging the; gearing from ,said` shaft whenthe feedingl mechanism is to be thrown out ofoperation. s i In witness whereof, I have hereunto -set my hand and .affixed my seal, this 29th day of August, A. D. 1918. v Y n JGHN HOLLAND LETZ. V[1..` s] j Witness: j 1 v.

' `JOHN vHOWARD MoELRoY.

75y naled/.in and extending throughl the casing', u v 

